The Sayulita JR SUP Team At The Pacific Paddle Games 2017 - Part 2

This is Part 2 of 3.  Read Part 1 here.

We got up the next day, had breakfast at the hotel and headed out for practice #2.  It was obvious when the kids hit the water they were getting accustomed to their borrowed equipment for the competition.  The kids train on 11' SUP race boards here in Sayulita.  They were required to race on 12'6" boards for the competition.  Not an easy task to be on a totally different piece of equipment and then asked to compete.  Some of the kids were actually liking the new boards since they actually were a bit lighter and faster than their training SUPs.

SUP Parents at practice

By this time some of the competitors were beginning to show up and you could see the number of boards in the water start to grow.  There is a local SUP racing program, The Paddle Academy, that also had a team of kids the same age as our group.  With more kid aged competitors in the water and you could see them starting to look over their shoulders a bit checking on the competition.  To the kid's surprise there was a little bit of "smack" talking in the water as the local youth members of The Paddle Academy paddled in the waves along side our Team. "There is always that one kid" Trace likes to say and he is right. This took our kids a little off guard since they envisioned their American counterparts as comrades of sorts and not rivals.  They had never competed against anyone but their friends back in Mexico and did not expect this different kind of reception.  I grew up playing team sports and now surf so there is always a little of this so I guess I should not have surprised.

Coach Shelby with "Baby on Board"...get it?

Saturday arrived and the first day of competition was here.  The kids would be competing in what is called a "Technical" race.  This involves paddling around a course and making turns around inflatable buoys.  The kids would be competing in two different age groups so we would be able to see them race at different times.  We signed in early and the kids received their competitor numbers, racer jerseys, and a big bag full of swag.  It was like Christmas SUP style.  They were pretty stoked about that.

Shortly after sign in we got together and brought the boards to the beach.  On the way, we ran into the same group of local kids from The Paddle Academy who said a few words to our group in the water the previous day. Fortunately, our coaches and their coach are friends and this was the perfect time for the two groups to introduce themselves to each other.  After introductions and some laughs they did some warm ups  and stretching as a one large group.  This was absolutely great and one of my favorite moments of the weekend.  The kids should be making connections with kids just like them with a similar passion.  I know this meet up with The Paddle Academy made our kids more comfortable knowing that this group was just a bunch of kids just like them.  Several of them were at their first competition too and just as nervous as our kids.  Truth be told we would really like to host members of this group to come down and paddle with our Team here in Sayulita.  Their coach was already talking about the idea.  It would be super fun I think.

The Sayulita JR SUP Team meets The Paddle Academy kids.

The time came for all the kids to get their pre-race briefing and the kids went over to listen to the Race Director.  Fortunately the inter-squad competitions the kids raced in back in Sayulita were very similar to what they would experience here.  Our coaches are former pros so they set things up for the kid's race events in a similar format.

This was the time our team received their first bit of unsettling news.  Every competitor was required to race with a helmet on.  We all looked at each other saying "WTF"?  How come we did not know?  Did we miss something?  It became clear just by looking around that around 2/3 of the the kids and parents attending the pre-race meeting were saying the same thing we were.  The kids had to race on unfamiliar equipment and now would be wearing protective headgear that they had never used before.  The first heat was quickly outfitted with helmets and sent off and then next group begged, borrowed and stole any helmet they could find.  Fortunately, many kids who had come with helmets were willing to share.  We, and many others, were not happy about the unexpected requirement for the racers.  We could have come prepared had we known and it gave our kids one more thing to think about moments before their first competition.

No smiles before the race.  Game faces.

Alex would be up first and competing with her two teammates, Ava and Habana.  There were many 12-14 year old girls including a fierce team from Spain.

Alex getting ready.  Center of photo.

On the starting line.  Alex in white helmet to the right of the photo.

Trace was up next.  He was fitted with a red helmet that barely fit him and we didn't have time to even adjust it properly.  He was in the same group as one of his best friends, Kolbi.  A kid who was racing right next to him paddled with The Paddle Academy and was at his first competition.  He was so nervous he looked like he might throw up.  His parents introduced him to Trace since Trace looked pretty calm about the whole thing hoping it would help their son calm down a bit.

Trace in the center with red helmet starts strong with buddy, Kolbi, in the green helmet.

Trace in the red helmet

Trace was involved in one of the more exciting finishes of the youth division as he and another paddler got to the beach at the same time and raced up the sand to the finish line.  The other racer beat him by a few hundredths of a second.

Race a couple miles, paddle to the beach, jump off your board and still run to the finish line.

All the kids were smiling at the end of the morning and they were able to relax and enjoy some of the Pro races watching many of the athletes we met just two days before.  The Team was taking a group photo after their races were over and Candice Appleby recognized our group from the awards event and jumped in to join the shot.

Candice Appleby joins the photo.

The end of day one concluded with hamburgers in the park and adult beverages served secretly out of the RV Headquarters.  Everyone was happy, full and tired.  Another day of competition the next day.  Part 3 soon.

The Sayulita JR SUP Team At The Pacific Paddle Games 2017 - Part 1

This post is Part I.

About a year ago the kids joined a local youth team.  The Sayulita JR SUP Team.  Local kids of all ability levels and ages come twice per week to receive coaching and get some paddle time with former pro SUP racers, Shelby Rose Taylor-Jiménez and Bicho Jimenez Lorenzo.

The program has helped Alex and Trace turn into water people.  Had we stayed in Park City they would most certainly be mountain kids but the ocean is literally down the street and a constant source of fun and challenge.

Just one month before the start of The Pacific Paddle Games some of the Team parents and coaches decided to see what kind of interest there might be for some of the kids to travel up to Dana Point, California to compete for the first time against kids from other programs.  The call was answered by 9 kids.  Fund raising began and the Team departed September 27 for one of the biggest competitions in SUP racing.  The kids had never raced against anyone other than their own teammates so we were not really sure what was going to happen or how they would stack up to kids in their own age categories.

Coach Bicho at the PV airport with some of the Team

The team all got to Dana Point anyway the could and several of us met the first day at a local surfboard builder and retail shop called Brawner Boards.  This shop had enough gear to outfit all the kids with SUP race boards.  These guys made our ability to race possible and we are so appreciative.  Brawner Boards also supplied boards to several members of Team Mexico who competed recently at the 2017 ISA SUP and Paddleboard World Championships.  The kids train on 11' SUP boards but they would be expected to race on 12'6" length boards.  A big departure from the boards the kids were use to maneuvering through a technical course and surfing to the beach when there were waves.  Fortunately we arrived in time for 2 days of training before the actual race to give the kids a chance to get accustomed to their new gear to compete on.

Team photo just before the first practice

The Team stayed locally in various locations.  We stayed basically across the street from the beach so we could run back to our hotel room if we needed something or just needed to get out of the sun for a while.  Our friends and parents of another SUP competitor have been outfitting a RV since last summer and they had it stored a short drive away.  They were able to bring it to the event and it became the Team HQ and we loaded boards on top of the rig at the end of each afternoon.

Team HQ

The evening of the first practice there was a sponseor, SUP The Mag, organized award's ceremony and we showed up again not knowing what to expect.  All we knew was that there was going to be pizza and a complimentary bar set up.  Most of us parents were in just for that.

The Team's "RED CARPET" photo was featured the next day on the SUP The Mag's website..RAD!

What we found was the coolest assembly of SUP athletes in the World.  Virtually all the big names were there.  We knew many of the faces from watching the ISA SUP World Championships online over the years and from Youtube.  When the World Championships came to Sayulita in 2015 we saw many of these athletes up close as well.  Ashley and I had just enough cocktails before the event that we started asking many of the athletes for a quick photo with the kids.  The athletes were absolutely fantastic!  We did not get a single "No", "Maybe later" or "I can't right now".  Our Team was the only "Grom"(kid) presence at the event so we stuck out as a group and were even were featured on SUP The Mag's website recap of the event the following day.

We have so many great photos of the evening.  Trace met one of his favorite SUP surfers, Sean Poynter.  He won the gold medal at the World Championships here in Sayulita.

Sean Poynter

Alex really enjoyed meeting Candice Appleby who had some great words of encouragement for Alex and her friend, Ava.  Candice is another ISA 2015 gold medalist.  Alex, Ashley and I also had a great talk with Izzy Gomez.  She also won gold in Sayulita in SUP surfing.  She loves Sayulita and we spoke to her for quite a few minutes and hope to see her return to Mexico someday.  Both of these women are SUP powerhouses.

Ava, Candice Appleby and Alex

Izzy Gomez and Alex

I think Ashleys favorite part of the evening was when we spotted Chuck Patterson in the corner of the venue.  We had seen Chuck attend the Punta Sayulita SUP and Longboard Classic that was held here several years ago. Ashley went over to him and asked him for a photo with the kids and he was super happy to do it.  By the look on Ashley's face in the below photo I think she was equally as happy about it.  The funny part was that we noticed that Chuck and I were dressed almost exactly alike wearing the same shirt and pants and got a good laugh over it.  I admit he pulled the style off much better than I did.  The SUP The Mag photographer loved the photo opportunity too.

Good fun with Chuck Patterson

We pretty much closed the place down and went back to the hotel to get ready for another day of practice in the morning.  We met tons of other people like Mo Freitas, Conner Baxter, Casper Steinfath, Fiona Wylde, Zane Schweitzer and others. When the PROs associated our coaches together with the kid's Team from Mexico then everyone was even more excited to give us a few moment of their time.  Sayulita's own Fernando Stalla was there as well and helped coach the kids during their training leading up to the event.

Bicho, Shelby(with baby on board), Zane and Fernando with the Team

...and that was only day one.  Part II will follow soon.

A few more pictures just for the heck of it and no, you probably won't know who any of these people are unless you SUP.

Conner Baxter

Casper Steinfath from Denmark

Fiona Wylde and Sonni Hönscheid

Mo Freitas and Chris Bertish(This guy paddled across the Atlantic Ocean...really!!!!

Ok, I will stop there but it was such and awesome first day for the kids and parents I just couldn't stop.

Our Lives As Sayulita Bros

Trace and a couple of his amigos put out their first video about living in Sayulita.  Kind of fun to watch and a good job for their first project.  This is episode 1.  More episodes coming!  Got to turn the volume WAY up to hear them but they are figuring that out for the next video.

Sayulita Scenes - Nik West Cover

"World's COOLEST Beach Town?"?  Well, I am not sure about that but it is still a great magazine cover shot of Sayulita by our friend Nik West.  Check out Nik's photography at Nik West Photography and click on the Beachbrake link to check out some of his local ocean/surf related photography as well as his two surf books featuring Sayulita.

Speaking of Nik West, he just sent me some cool shots that he found in the collection of gazillions of photos he has.  They are from 2015 and did not make the cut for his surf book but how cool are these?  Gracias Nik!

6 Years In The Jungle

6 years ago we landed in Sayulita for our new lives in the jungle!  Lots of action in 2017 and it is not over yet.  Going to be an exciting last three months of the year with house completion, continued settling in with the new school, SUP Team, more surfing and who knows what else.

Pacific Paddle Games 2017!

Watch out Dana Point USA, Sayulita is coming!!!  BIG GRACIAS to those who made a donation to the team and made this trip possible for the chicos!  It will be an amazing experience for them...and the parents will have lots of fun too!

Park City Scenes

We certainly miss the mountains sometimes.

Photo by the Park Record

House Hunters International - Margaritas In Sayulita

A fun location shoot here in Sayulita for a program on HGTV.  The house the couple decided on is not far from us and we have worked with the Realtor who helped them.  Certainly turned out to be a great property for them.

A New Casa In 2017 - Quick Photo Update - September

Some photos from today's walk-thru.  September 15th, 2017.

This "pano" shot is of the back section of the house.  It is hard to tell but it is about 700 square feet. We have painfully watched this area go in all summer since it needed to be hand excavated and the front of the house where I am standing needed to be complete.  This way everything could be built at the right level and tie in seamlessly.



The walls to the left and to the back will get upper level windows to allow light and air but not a view.  The wall to the right will have lower windows for the kitchen and living areas.  We placed them a bit above the normal room height to give the neighbors some privacy in their backyard.  Hopefully if they feel like we are not peering into their lives everyday they won't build their wall up over our windows.  No set backs here on the sides of the property.  Set backs only to the front and to the back.  It is risk you take building like this so we have tried to focus designing the house to the interior vs designing to the exterior and a view that could be covered up by the neighbor at some point.

The house front has been pretty much the same for weeks as the back of the house catches up.

The four corners.

The interior courtyard corner.  Will be open to the sky but have some sort of polycarbonate roof structure to protect from rain and provide security.  There will be stair access to the rooftop as well.

The living area corner.

The kitchen corner.

The dining area corner.  This area was to be the living area but we had to bump the house in about 5 feet or so to protect the tree.  The wall being built actually does not sit on a footing but more of a reinforced beam to allow the tree roots to remain undisturbed.

View down the hall to what will be a large front window to allow air flow and bring in light.  Opening for stairs from front door.  At the end of the hall to the right will be the master bedroom.

Future view from kitchen/living area looking right.  Ashley loves the view of the rebar tree.  Very common here.

Ashley and I had considered pushing the project up to a 4th level if the price was right.  With the exchange rate having gone down and the cost of materials going up it wasn't and would be pushing some of the zoning rules so we decided against it.  What we did decide on was to someday create a rooftop patio using materials that are allowed per zoning.  A "temporary" roof trellis made from concrete posts and wood or metal support rafters to support another clear polycarbonate rooftop.  Many rooftop patios have this and it provide extra room, protection from the elements, is economical and is considered "temporary".  Our laundry room will also be on the 4th level and be the only real permanent structure up there.  Hopefully zoning will let is slide since it is a utility room and not living space.  The 4th level will be accessed from a stair case winding it's way up from the interior courtyard to this view.  Nice!  This why we bought this lot almost 11 years ago and be hard for the neighbor to block with any new construction...but you never know.

Our contractor says they will be prepping for forming up the roof by the end of the month and that some of the lower rooms will begin to be finished.  With the heavy rains we get this time of year it is hard to keep working on finishes with no real roof on.  Got to get out of this rental house by December 1.  Stress level rising.

For reference.  The living room and dining rooms are now switched.

A New Casa In 2017 - How Did We Get Here? Part 2

It is not possible to be brief about this.  How we got to this point is only something that could really be understood by someone who has been through it, sweat it out and felt it.  The journey is generally different now but some still live in the world I will describe.

Read Part 1 here since it will make this post more understandable.

During our next visit to Sayulita we decided to consider another lot purchase.  "The last one went so well let's consider this again" we told ourselves.  Real estate everywhere is going up, up, up and if we can buy another property maybe we can sell it down the road and pay off a significant portion of the purchase price from our original purchase.  Ok!  If we ever want to get rid of it we can just sell it right?  We are so smart!  Sayulita had gained some momentum as far as exposure was concerned.  Fonatur, the tourism engine in Mexico, was putting in a major tourism complex down the road only 15 minutes away.  Have you heard of "Cancun".  Fonatur, it's creator for better or worse is the ...

"mastermind the infrastructure behind modern tourism in Mexico by developing some prime coastal real estate and encouraging foreign investment in its projects.

If Fonatur is eyeing the area for a major development then maybe we are on the early track to get in on this area plus we really like it.  Double bonus!  So, we hooked up with a local Realtor and she showed us a property that had just hit the market.  It was in an established nicer neighborhood with "pica boo" views of the coast going north.  It was even a better asking price than our first purchase.  Perfect!!  Our Presta Nombre was happy to put her name of the papers and suddenly we were proud owners of two lots in Sayulita.

A little time passes and we thought we were so cool.  (Ok, maybe it was just me who thought we were cool).  We have two quality lots in Sayulita, Mexico!  In a location that we pegged as a great up and coming destination.  International investors.  Welcome the global financial crisis of 2007/2008.  This totally washed all those dreams of having a house in Mexico down the drain along with everything else.  Real Estate in Sayulita came to a stand still.  We listed both lots immediately but no one wanted to even discuss the idea of a jungle covered lot with no title.  If you have cash to make a purchase for a lot, odds are you have cash to buy a fire sale lot in a kick ass location or a house with a title with an owner eager to sell.  Casas were selling cheap at bargain prices all over town as second home owners were looking to ditch their investments in Mexico.  We were pretty much stuck with something that no one wanted.  We were fucked.

Again, time passes and we were stuck paying on this money borrowed from ourselves every month.  The process of titling our lots was finally available in 2010.  Perhaps if we had lots available with "title" the appeal to buyers would be better and we could sell and lighten our financial burden a bit.  So, to be clear, the process for foreigners requires that the titling process from "ejido land" is completed in a Mexican national's name first.  The result being that the Mexican national would have the property listed as his or her property on the title deed at the beginning of the process.  After that, the title can be transferred to the foreigner in the form of a "Bank Trust".   This is a legal classification to allow foreign investors to legally own property in Mexico a certain distance to the coastline.  The twist on all this is that, for some reason, we needed new Presta Nombres to carry this process through.  In other words, our original Presta Nombre said she was unable(or unwilling) to put her name on the title for the lots.  This posed a problem since we did not know many people in town who we would trust to put their names on the documents even temporarily.  We ended up tracking down a former baby sitter of the kids whose family worked for lots of people we knew.  She was barely 18 at the time but if we trusted her with our children hopefully we could trust her(with the right arrangement) with representing one of our properties.  We needed a totally separate and second "Mexican national" to help us to represent our second lot.  We just did not know any more people in town so the attorney who was completing the titling process for us recommended his brother as the stand in "Presta Nombre" for the titling process.

Ok, so where does that leave us?  Our original Presta Nombre had to step aside.  We now have two new Presta Nombres.  One who we have used for a baby sitter twice.  One we have never met or even talked to.  What the hell did we get ourselves in to?  Tune in to Part 3.

Mud Season

Having done some of my growing up in Vermont there was always a 5th season each year.  Spring, summer, fall, winter, and MUD season.  To state the obvious, the seasons here in Sayulita are much milder.  So much so that it is sometimes difficult to tell which season it actually is.  One season that is easily identifiable is MUD season.

All summer the rains try and try to come and water the plants and wash the jungle clean again.  When the rain does come the thirsty earth just drinks it all in until one day the earth decides it will drink no more.  The rain starts to come more often and in greater amounts and the town turns into a sloppy mess.  Side roads that are not cobble stoned turn into deeply rutted, gooey avenues of mud and only get worse as traffic tries to use these pathways.

Trace getting ride with our neighbor Pepe's ATV

Cars here are just not equipped to handle this kind of terrain for the most part.  Many of them do not have great tires or perhaps are rear wheel drive.  Few 4x4s.  I tried my luck with our little Ford SUV after I saw another car almost get to the top of this hill and have to back all the way down to the next muddy intersection.  It took me two tries but I made it.  I have to admit I missed my little Mazda truck today.

Calle Libertad is slicker than snot

This is the top of the road we are building our house on.  There has been talk for years about the possibility of cobble stoning it.  We hope that this year is the year the rumors become truth and we see a totally improved roadway as it is an important connector out of town for many people.  With improvement the road will get busier but at least we will be able to use it.